The Cubs hitters brought their A Game by scoring 13 runs! Miles showed his versatility by playing SS today. Lee, Soriano, and Ramirez all made their second starts of the Spring. Too bad the game was not on TV or Radio at all, it was a great one! Hoffpauir stayed hot with 2 more hits, Micah has started in all 4 games for the Cubs.

Heilman looked solid in his first start of the Spring. If he keeps pitching that way, he could be in our rotation. Good to see Kevin Gregg in Cubbie Blue for the first time. David Patton, the Rule 5 Draft pick, tossed 2 shutout innings. Kadukura, Cotts, Waddell, and Caridad were all also sharp each putting a goose egg on the board.

Carlos Marmol has changed his mind about skipping the World Baseball Classic. Felipe Alou and other coaches for Team Dominican Republic convinced the right hander to change his mind. Marmol is a little nervous about leaving camp because he is competing. Cubs manager Lou Piniella said that it is an honor to have a chance to represent your country. Marmol will pitch for the Cubs on Monday and leave the team on Tuesday.

Check out the preview of today's game and more on the post below on the blog main page!

Some more of the latest:

The Cubs will take 18 players to Las Vegas for the 2 games against the White Sox on Wednesday and Thursday including Aramis Ramirez, Mike Fontenot, Alfonso Soriano, and Ryan Theriot.

Harden threw today, but didn't end up pitching to hitters. He's about one week away from getting a Spring Training game according to Carrie Muskat.

Milton Bradley is still day-to-day with a quad injury. He will not play this weekend.

Ted Lilly looked sharp in his first game of the Spring. Now Ted will leave Cub camp to go pitch in the WBC. Jeff Stevens, who the Cubs got in the DeRosa trade, pitched well. He could compete for a bullpen spot for the Cubs. The other guys who pitched are probobally headed back down in the first 2 rounds of cuts.

Fuld, who has a slim chance of winning the job in a crowded outfield, went deep off the bench. Mark Johnson caught for the first time this Spring. Richie Robnett, outfielder who the Cubs got in the Wuertz trade, has played in all 3 games but has not hit very well. Chad Fox played 1B again today.

Game Highlight: Hoffpauir and Fontenot both homer in a 7 run 2nd inning.

My Player(s) of the Game: Ted Lilly for his 2 strong innings, and Hoffpauir for his second home run in 3 days.

So now all of the regulars have played in at least one game. The only guy to start in both game is Micah Hoffpauir who was the DH yesterday and played LF today. Bako, Gathright and Bradley all made their debuts in Cubbie Blue. Bradley was removed after 1 AB with a minor injury. He said that if it was a the regular season he would have stayed in. Bako did not impress in his first game, but Gathright did showing speed and good hitting.

Pitchers:

Marshall: 2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 K

Gaudin: Winning Pitcher, 2 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 1 K

Marmol: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

Stanton: 1 IP, 1 h, 1 ER

Hart: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER

Fox: 1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 K

Guzman: Save, 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 K

So the young guys, Guzman and Kevin Hart, looked good. Mike Stanton gave up a long ball. Marmol looked a little rusty in his inning.

Hitters who came off the bench:

Taguchi: 0-1

Fuld: 0-1

Robnett: 1-2, RBI, BB

Scales: 0-2, R, BB, RBI

Snyder: BB

Blanco: 0-1, BB

Barney: 1-5, R

Gaudin: 1-1, 2B

Castillo: 0-2, BB, 2 R

Lou Piniella talked with Ron Santo on Cubs Central Pre-game:

Rick Sutcliffe managed the ball club today.

Lou was very impressed with Hoffpauir, he believes he'll get 350 ABs this year.

The Cubs are going to rest Soriano and Lee even though they want to be in the line-up everyday.

The main question is who is going to back-up Ramirez at 3B. Ronny says that either Miles or Fontenot will fill that role.

Lou told Ronny that Samardzija looks good and he was impressed with Esmalin Caridad.

David Kaplan like the defense of Jeff Samardzija on the double play ball yesterday.

Ron Santo chats with Micah Hoffpauir on the Pre-game show:

Micah takes the first couple weeks of the off season to take it easy, and then starts lifting weights. He starts hitting and throwing in December.

Hoffpauir says that his game from day 1 has been hitting for average. Now that he is getting older, wiser, and stronger, he has started hitting more home runs.

He feels confident playing outfield, as well as 1B.

Hoffpauir has been in the minors for 6-7 years.

Other Cubs Related Notes:

Milton Bradley is fine after leaving today with mild quad tightness.

Lou Piniella denies reports that he had a problem with Mark DeRosa.

Rick Sutcliffe will leave the team to go broadcast WBC games for ESPN. He had fun managing the game today, and takes all the credit for the win.

On my computer, when I try to go to my blog, an error keeps coming up saying operation aborted. If this is happening to you some of the times you go to my blog, leave a comment on this post to tell me. If you are not having trouble viewing this blog, tell me that as well. Also, if you know how to fix this problem on a blog, please comment!

Cubs VS The L.A. Dodgers, the same team that ended 2008 for the Cubs will start 2009.Place: HoHoKam Park, in Mesa.Game Time: 2:05 CT, most of the games will be at 2:05 until March 8, and then they move to 3:05.

Pitching Match-up: Jeff Samardzija VS Claudio Vargas; both guys are competing for the 5th starter's job on their respective teams.

Line-ups: Soto, Lee, Fontenot, and Theriot will all be in the line-up for the Cubbies. Dodgers expected to make the trip to Mesa include Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Juan Pierre, and Casey Blake. Orlando Hudson is not on the travel list.

TV/Radio: WGN Radio 720 AM

Other Notes going into the first game:

Carlos Zambrano will make his Spring debut on Monday.

Lou says, "We'll get a chance to see our young pitchers a lot.

Nomar Garciapara will not return to the Cubs. He will either play for the Phillies or A's, or retire.

Ryan Dempster's neck is fine, he will start next Tuesday. He threw 50 pitches on Monday and Tuesday and all was well according to Carrie Muskat.

Jeff Samardzija will start the first game of the Cactus League on Wednesday.

Sean Marshall will pitch on Thursday and Ted Lilly on Friday.

Each starter will go 2 innings the first time around.

Mitch Atkins will pitch the 3rd and 4th inning against the Dodgers on Wednesday.

Rich Harden is a week to 10 days behind the other starters.

Carlos Marmol has decided to stay out of the WBC.

Carlos said he couldn't sleep last night trying to make up his mind.

Ryan Dempster has not being throwing to hitters due to a stiff neck.

Big Z and Lilly will get tuned up with sessions VS hitters on Monday.

The Cubs will take 4-5 regulars to the 2 games series in Las Vegas against the White Sox.

Lou has finished one Tony Dungy book and is reading the second one.

Today was the final day of practice at Fitch Park. The Cubbies will move down the road to HoHoKam tomorrow to practice before the games start on Wednesday.

Samardzija is working on his change-up.

There are only 2 Japanese reporters in Cubs camp, both are watching Ken Kadokura.

Zambrano's eye will be examined next week.

Carlos told Bruce Levine that his shoulder is ready to go.

According to Carrie Muskat, AL managers have contacted Lou about using a DH during the Spring games at HoHoKam. Lou said "You'd like to think that you give yourself a competitive balance, you don't want to just go out there and play. Sooner or later, you have to start worrying about winning some baseball games."

Derrek Lee looks like he is in even better shape this Spring according to Mike Huang.

Lee hit a few dingers in live BP.

Soto ripped several line drives off Chad Gaudin.

Jake Fox was working out at 3B again today. He smacked a few fast balls in live BP off Marmol.

Soriano's bat looked even quicker today according to Huang.

Lou Piniella with Dan Roan on WGN:

The first week or 10 days we'll be seeing a lot of the young kids playing.

Zambrano will probably pitch the 6th game of the spring.

Lilly will join team USA after his start on Friday.

Lou stated again that there's going to be a packed camp with no place to send anyone until the minor league camp begins.

Sweet Lou said that Samardzija is not in the mix as the closer. Either Gregg on Marmol will pitch the 9th. He said the biggest job in camp is to find out who else can pitch in late relief besides Gregg and Marmol.

Lou said that the only thing wrong with Soriano as a lead off man is that he isn't running as much any more.

Piniella mentioned looking at Miles, Kosuke, and Fontenot in the lead off spot, but he assumes that on Opening Day it will be Soriano hitting first.

He said that the Cubs have a real nice combination of speed, power, and left handed hitting.

The key is keeping this team healthy.

Lou's leaning toward this batting order according to Cubs.com:

1. Soriano

2. Miles

3. Lee

4. Bradley

5. Ramirez

6. Kosuke

7. Soto

8. Theriot

In my opinion I'd rather see Theriot hitting second and Fontenot in the line-up at 2B.

Bruce Levine joined Waddle and Silvy today:

Bruce doesn't think Marmol should be worried about his position on the team, but Carlos wants to work on new pitches.

Levine says that 1 or 2 bullpen spots are up for grabs, but the positions of the bullpen pitchers will be interesting to sort out.

Samardzija want desperately to be a starting pitcher.

The Cubs will be at HoHoKam tomorrow!

First Spring Training Game Wednesday VS LAD@ 2:00 CT on WGN Radio.

Cubs Chat on this blog tomorrow @ 7 PM CT! Be there with all your Cubs questions and comments!

Catchers alternating between catching the BP, warming up the next pitcher, and hitting.

Carlos Zambrano joined Waddle & Silvy on Thursday:

Big Z's off season was good. He worked hard to keep improving.

Zambrano played a little pick-up softball with some Cubs fans one night this off season. He plays 1B and LF.

He says that he was trying to let his mustache grow big like "Hitler".

Mark asked how long the playoff loss stayed with Carlos last year. Z said that this is a new year and we can't think about that.

Carlos said that he made the decision not to pitch in the WBC because of his problem with his vision. One of the reasons is because he doesn't want to be pitching 5-6 innings early in the spring.

He says his eyes are getting better, he doesn't know yet about the LASIK surgery.

Big Z says that Lou is in trouble if he starts Ted Lilly on Opening Day. He went on to say that he was just kidding, Lou has 4 good starting pitchers and the Opening Day starter is up to Lou.

Milton Bradley was on The Afternoon Saloon on Wednesday:

After the first two questions from Carmen were about his temper, Milton said that that was all these guys wanted to talk about and that he has a lot more to offer than that.

Bradley is going to continue to be serious about winning.

The guys asked if Bradley thought twice about taking Sammy Sosa's old number. He said that he did the same last year with the Rangers. The guys pointed out that his run with the Cubs was more impressive than the one with Texas. Bradley replied with, "He didn't win anything."

"I'm just telling it like it is," he said.

Bradley said that he worked harder this off season than he ever has before.

Milton doesn't think losing a couple times in the playoffs is a bad thing because they got that experience.

"Lou is Lou, he's crazy like a fox," said Bradley on his new manager.

"I played in Oakland and they have the second most day games behind the Cubs, so it's not that much different," he said on playing day baseball.

Bradley has spent time speaking with Fontenot and Theriot and other guys picking their brain and learning about them.

He thinks that if A-Rod gets leaked, then the other 103 names should get leaked.

Milton thinks Rodrigez came off "very shady" when he spoke about admitting that he used banned substances.

He thinks that Bonds and A-Rod should still be in the Hall of Fame.

Bradley's favorite thing about Chicago is the people. He says the people are friendly and care about winning.

After Bradley got off the phone, Carmen said that he doesn't think there was one attack in any of his questions. Yurko agrees with Carmen but Harry supported Milton.

Lou Piniella was on Talking Baseball today:

Lou is looking forward to the first game of the Spring Training season on Wednesday.

Piniella understands that the media has a job to do.

He says there have been no controversies in their camp, and that's a good thing.

Lou says the Cubs just had a bad 3 games in postseason so they made some changes adding some left handed hitting, versatility, and speed.

He says the Cubs kept their core intact and added some pieces.

Lou's main job in the Spring is to look at the bullpen in backup roles. The Cubbies have Theriot, Ramirez, Lee, Soto, Soriano, and Bradley penciled in. He has to take a look and 2B and CF to see what they do there.

The Cubs will take a look at a guy like Atkins, and decide what to do with Samardzija, but the rotation is pretty set.

Piniella says he has to do a better job of resting the team. The Cubs have more left handed and switch hitting and that will help.

Lou says he's been here 2 years and one of the reasons that the Cubs haven't done that well in October is all the day games all summer long.

Lou thinks Jim has done a really nice job to improve the ball club.

There's pressure to win anywhere you play, but it's a little more difficult than Piniella thought coming in 2 years ago.

Jonathan asked about Kosuke's confidence level. Sweet Lou doesn't really know because Fukudome is in Japan, but he thinks that he got a little tired at the end of last season and ended up trying to do more than he needed to.

Lou is happy that fans expect the Cubs to be good each year. Over a 2 year period, the Cubs have gone from a 96 loss team to a 97 win team.

Notes from Bruce this week:

Derrek Lee told Bruce that Milton Bradley is not the type to snap at every little thing, and he will be smart when dealing with comments from fans about the color of his skin.

Ryan Theriot told Levine that he doesn't really care if he hits first or second, but he would like a shot to lead off.

Lou's message to the team is "Don't take for granted that we are going to be in postseason."

Aaron Miles was on Mully and Hanley on Tuesday:

Miles had the chance to lead off with the Rockies and he feels confident that he could lead off.

Aaron assumes that the guy that plays the best at 2B will get the most playing time.

He thinks that the bottom line is getting on base when you lead off.

Aaron was just getting to know everyone on the first day in Mesa.

His experience as a Cubbie so far has been fantastic, he's ready to get it going.

Miles says that his issues with the Cardinals are in the past, but he's ready to be a thorn in their side.

He thinks it is a big advantage knowing that your team is expected to be in the postseason.

Aaron says that the Cubs want to win bad for the city, for the fans, and for the team. He laughs about the curse.

Miles is excited that he has a chance to be apart of the team that will break the curse.

Rich Hill joined Mully & Hanley on Wednesday:

Rich says it is hard to leave an organization that you have been with for so many years.

Hill says he couldn't get his back right the whole summer, and described last year as "lost to injury".

He feels 100% better.

Rich says he ran into some shoulder problems in Winterball.

It seems like Rich is blaming his control problems on injuries.

He says he couldn't really finish his pitches.

In a perfect world for Rich, he would have stayed with the Cubs.

His favorite memory is just going to the ballpark early, and playing in front of a full house every night.

Hill says he doesn't believe in any curses.

He expects himself to be consistent day in and day out. He wants to get back in the "one game at a time, one pitch at a time" mindset.

More radio recaps later or tomorrow if I get a chance!

Some notes on this blog:

Tomorrow- Spring Training Preview: The Infield, new poll, Numbers Breakdown, radio recaps, and updates from Mesa.

Monday- Spring Training Preview: The Outfield, updates

Tuesday- Live Chat at 7 PM CT, last official day of off season coverage on our blog.

Then the Spring Training games start. Here's what I will include on this site during Spring Training:

Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune reports that the Mariners and other teams were interested in trading for Kosuke Fukudome this off season. The M's were offering guys like Jarrod Washburn, Erik Bedard, and Kenji Johjima. Link

Alfonso Soriano says he'd move back to 2B if the Cubs signed Manny Ramirez. Aramis Ramirez said, "Sori is OK with going to second? Who wouldn't want to have Manny Ramirez in their lineup? We already have a good lineup, but if we added him, it would be awesome, but it's a long shot."

LHP Bill White, who had signed a minor league deal with the Cubs, was released today because he failed a physical. The Cubs have added Brian Schlitter to the list of non-roster invitees. Schlitter was acquired in the trade that sent Scott Eyre to the Phillies last season.

It's day 8 in Mesa:

Carlos Marmol may not pitch for the Dominican Republic in the WBC. He wants to focus on the upcoming season with the Cubs. He is expected to decide by tomorrow.

Rick Sutcliffe was in uniform and on the field at Fitch Park today.

Soriano is telling guys that he is going to start stealing a lot of bases again.

Pitcher threw to hitters for the first time in BP today.

We move on to my NL Central standings:

1. Cubs- Best rotation in division. Best lineup in the division. Best defense in the division. Best team in the division!

2. Cardinals- Nobody is going to even be close to the Cubbies in my mind, but if someone does have a chance, it's the team with Albert Pujols.

3. Brewers- No CC. No Sheets. No chance.

4. Astros- Another NL Central team with a shallow rotation. They have Roy Oswalt, but you know you're in trouble when your #2 guy is Wandy Rodrigez.

5. Reds- Good young talent, could contend this year, but more likely not yet.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

All of the Cubs have reported to Spring Training, besides Kosuke who is in Japan training for the WBC.

Lee, Ramirez, Soriano, and Vizcaino were the final Cubs to report, and they did so today.

Derrek Lee says it doesn't matter to him if he bats 3rd, 4th, 5th, or even 6th.

Alfonso Sorinano is in great shape according to Bruce Miles.

Soriano said that he will hit anywhere that Lou wants him to.

Lee says February is no time to get worked up over lineups.

Aramis Ramirez is not going to play in the World Baseball Classic.

Ted Lilly is expected to play for team USA in the WBC according to Carrie Muskat.

Derrek Lee is also going to skip the WBC. He says that he wanted to do it, but they told him that he wouldn't get that much playing time.

Jeff Stevens came out throwing curveballs today, and looked good according to Gordan Wittenmyer.

The Cubs have invited President Barack O'bama to visit their Spring Training site on Wednesday, even though he is a Sox fan! O'bama will be in the area to speak to students at Mesa High School. Full article on Cubs.com.

Hot Stove Cubbies reports that the D-backs and Cubs could pull of a sign-and-trade for Hudson.

Also, Hot Stove Cubbies says that if the Royals do look to release or trade Mark Teahen, the Cubs would be "very interested".

Today it's my AL East Standings:

1. Yankees- Even with all the distractions, the Yankees have tons of talent and that's what wins. They add CC, A.J., and Tex to an already staked team. I think it was a fluke that they finished 3rd last year and they will bounce back and win the division.

2. Rays- It's a toss up for me between the Rays and Red Sox for second. I went with the Rays because they proved themselves last year, and their young talent has more experience this season.

3. Red Sox- Off season didn't come close to matching the Yankees spending spree.

4. Blue Jays- Last year they finished 86-76. I think they will finish below .500 this year. Didn't have a good off season, Marcum and Burnett will be missed.

Aaron Heilman has an eye on the 5th starter's job. He said, "I'd like to get back to starting, there's a lot to be said for the routine. You know when you're going to pitcher. You're not constantly on call every day. It's always difficult to manage your routine (as a reliever). It's a constant balancing act, how much do I do, how little do I do. You can have a certain routine (as a reliever) but it's never the same everyday."

According to Cubs.com Mitch Atkins is in the mix for the rotation along with Heilman, Marshall, Samardzija, and Gaudin.

Alfonso Soriano said, "Lou, you can do whatever you want." About the possibility of moving Soriano down in the lineup.

Kerry Wood said, "No, 2003 probably, that playoff run we had. First time since '45 we got that close to the World Series. It was a magical season, and I was kind of in the center of that." -Thanks to BCB for that one.

Ted Lilly made sarcastic comments about Sox manager Ozzie Guillen yesterday, and Ozzie fired back: "I was a player rep before Ted Lilly. I respect his opinion and I don't know why it sounds like he doesn't respect mine. Tell him to worry about winning games for the Cubs and winning them for Lou, not what Ozzie thinks or says."

I'll Update this post this afternoon with more information from Day 4 of Spring Training.

Buster Only reports that he will likely sign a one year deal somewhere by the end of the week.

The Cubs, White Sox, and Dodgers are the front runners, the Royals are a long shot.

Hudson could be a sign and trade, working around the rule that says the Cubs would lose a first round draft pick for signing a Type A free agent. So the D-backs could resign Hudson, and then flop him to the Cubs. I'd rather see the Cubs just sign him and give up the pick.

MLB Trade Rumors reports that Roy Halladay could be a mid-season trade candidate. The Cubs could have interest, especially if Harden or another starter goes down.

Other Updates...

Lou will try Soriano in the middle of the order this year but he's still the main lead off guy.

Cory Provus from WGN radio has been hired to team up with Bob Uecker on Brewers radio.

Cory will do 3 innings of play-by-play with the Brewers.

Luis Vizcaino has yet to report.

The only position players who haven't reported yet are Aramis Ramirez, Derrek Lee, and Alfonso Soriano.

Mike Fontenot, Aaron Miles, and Jake Fox all took grounders at 3rd base today. One of the guys will have to back up 3rd if the Cubs don't add a free agent.

Lou Piniella told the players at a team meeting this weekend, "No predictions, let's just go play on the field."

"We don't need predictions what we need is good performances." -Piniella

Ryan Dempster still truly believes that the Cubs can win the World Series.

Dempster doesn't dwell on his poor performance in Game 1 of the NLDS last year, but he will use it as motivation.

Dempster feels he can win 17 games every year and continue to improve.

Ryan tries to work hard and have fun when he goes out there.

Lou said Dempster has leadership qualities.

Ryan doesn't really panic on the mound, he has that closer's mentality.

Carlos Zambrano has shaved his mustache.

Harden's reports were good after throwing about 20 pitches off the mound yesterday.

Quotes from Milton Bradley yesterday (in the Sun-Times):

"You might catch me on a day and I might blow you off, but hopefully that's few and far between," he told reporters.

"In the past I haven't tried to be, like, friendly, I just was in there trying to play baseball. That's all I wanted to do."

"But I fin that it kind of rubbed people the wrong way, and they'd get the wrong impression. You don't talk a whole lot, then they just assume things. The only way they're going to know you is if you talk to them."

"I know what I've done wrong. I'm trying to do something right, so if we can get away from all the negativity and going back 4 or 5 years to stuff that I did then and just focus on what I'm doing now, I think I'm a positive influence. I'm a good guy to be around."

"Who wouldn't want to play for the Cubs? They haven't won in 100 years, so you come in and know that you have that, I guess you call it, pressure, media word, pressure. But it's not really like that. It's just having the opportunity to come in here and win it after all this time. That excites me."

"I've never met so many nice people in one place, it helps the transition for me when you're dealing with people that are this nice and appreciative and in your corner. It hasn't always been that way."

"It's a new beginning, it's a home finally. I've been kind of rent-a-player for the most part over the years. I'd have a good year somewhere, and the next year some younger guys were coming along or they're trying to cut some payroll, and I'm always the guy to go. So to come here and feel I'm where I can get comfortable and relax a little bit, that helps."

"I want more, 30 (starts) is what I'd like to get. I haven't really gotten that yet, and that's kind of my goal. I definitely want more."

"I never had the issues with my shoulder from throwing, how I initially hurt my shoulder and had these problems with it the last year and a half or so its because 2 years ago, I threw a pitch, had a come backer, it was a 1 hopper, and I tried to bare hand it. It was over my head, over my throwing shoulder. That's when I did it. It wasn't really throwing, it was doing that."

"My number 1 priority is to the Cubs. They made a big commitment to me, picking up my option this year. My goal is to go out there and pitch as many games as I can win."

Sunday, February 15, 2009

The Cubs have 21 pitchers on their 40 man roster. That means that most likely 9 will not make the team. We know that Zambrano, Dempster, Lilly, and Harden will be in the rotation. There's one open spot in the starting 5, but everyone else will be fighting for their spot in the bullpen. Here's a breakdown including stats and info about each guy. Also, I predict whether or not they will make the team and what their role will be.

Carlos Marmol

Right handed hard throwing reliever

26 years old

Nasty slider

2.68 ERA in 2008

6 years in the Cubs organization

My Predictions-

Will he make the team? For Sure

Role? closer

Kevin Gregg

Right handed reliever

Drafted by the A's in 15th round of the 1996 draft.

Played with Angels and Marlins before being traded to the Cubs this winter.

3.41 ERA and 29 saves in 2008 with Florida.

30 years old

My predictions-

Will he make the team? Easily

Role? 8th inning guy

Jeff Samadzija

RHP, former Notre Dame football star.

Drafted by the Cubs in the 5th round in 2006.

2.28 ERA in 26 games with the Cubs in 2008.

24 years old.

My predictions-

Will he make the team? Yes

Role? I'm going to go out on a limb and say that he won't be in the pen because he will be starting. I went ahead and put him in the bullpen because they're is a good chance he could end up pitching in the 7th and 8th innings.

Neal Cotts

Left handed reliever.

Drafted by the A's in the 2nd round of the 2001 draft.

4.29 ERA in 50 games with the Cubs a year ago.

28 years old.

My predictions-

Will he make the team? Yes

Role? Left handed set-up guy.

Aaron Heilman

Right handed pitcher, traded from Seattle to the Cubs for Ronny Cedeno and Garrett Olson.

Selected by the Mets in the first round of the 2001 draft.

3-8 with a 5.21 ERA with the Mets in 2008.

30 years old.

My predictions-

Will he make the team? Yes

Role? Middle relief.

Luis Vizcaino

Right handed pitcher, traded to the Cubs from the Rockies for Jason Marquis.

Played with Brewers, White Sox, D-backs, Yankees, and Rockies.

31 years old.

Signed with the A's as an undrafted free-agent in 1994.

1-2 with a 5.28 ERA with the Rockies in 2008.

My predictions-

Will he make the team? No

Where will he start the season? He will be traded this spring.

Chad Gaudin

RHP

25 years old.

Drafted by the Devil Rays in the 34th round of the 2001 draft.

Acquired from the A's last June in the Rich Harden trade.

9-5 with a 4.40 ERA with the A's and Cubs last season.

My predictions-

Will he make the team? Yes

Role? Middle relief

Sean Marshall

Left handed pitcher.

26 years old

Drafted by the Cubs in the 6th round in 2003.

3-5 with a 3.86 ERA in 34 games (7 starts) with the Cubs a year ago.

My predictions-

Will he make the team? Yes

Role? Long man in the pen, spot starter, second left in the pen. He's very valuable.

Kevin Hart

Right handed pitcher.

26 years old.

Drafted by Baltimore in the 11th round of the 2004 draft.

Acquired by the Cubs as the player to be named later in the Freddie Bynum trade in 2006.

2-2 with a 6.51 ERA in 21 games with the Cubs last year.

4-2 with a 2.81 ERA in 26 games with Iowa in 2008.

My predictions-

Will he make the team? No

Where will he start the season? AAA

Jose Ascaino

Young right handed pitcher.

19 career big league games.

Signed as a undrafted free agent by the Braves in 2001.

Traded to the Cubs for Will Ohman and Omar Infante in December 2007.

7.94 ERA in 6 games with the Cubs last year.

2-1 with a 5.10 ERA in 40 games at AAA Iowa in 2008.

23 years old

My predictions-

Will he make the team? No

Where will he start the year? AAA

Mitch Atkins

Right handed pitcher.

Has yet to make his big league debut.

Drafted by the Cubs in the 7th round in 2004.

8-1 with a 4.47 ERA in 10 starts at AAA in 2008.

9-6 with a 3.76 ERA in 18 starts at AA last year.

23 years old

My predictions-

Will he make the team? No

Where will he start the year? AAA

Justin Berg

Right handed pitcher

24 years old

Has yet to make big league debut.

Drafted by the Yankees in the 43rd round in 2003.

Traded to the Cubs for Matt Lawton in August 2005.

4-6 with a 5.68 ERA in 27 games (16 starts) with AAA Iowa in 2008.

0-3 with a 34.9 ERA in 5 starts at AA last year.

My predictions-

Will he make the team? No

Where will he start the year? AAA

Angel Guzman

Right handed pitcher.

Signed as an undrafted free agent by the Royals in 1999.

8 years in Cubs organization.

27 years old.

5.59 ERA in 6 games with the Cubs a year ago.

1-0 with a 1.00 ERA in 4 games at AAA last year.

Injured for most of the season in 2008.

Out of options.

My predictions-

Will he make the team? No

Where will he be to start the year? Traded

David Patton

Right handed pitcher.

Drafted by the Rockies in the 12th round in 2004.

Has yet to make big league debut.

Selected by the Reds in the Rule 5 draft, then traded to the Cubs for cash.

Highest level is Class A.

24 years old.

4-5 with a 3.54 ERA in 50 games at High Class A with the Rockies in 2008.

My predictions-

Will he make the team? No

Where will he start the year? Because of the Rule 5 draft, the Cubs will lose him if he does not make the roster, so he'll be with another ball club.

Jeff Stevens

Right handed pitcher.

Has yet to make big league debut.

Selected by the Reds in the 6th round in 2005.

Traded from the Indians to the Cubs for Mark DeRosa this off season.

25 years old.

0-3 with a 3.94 ERA at AAA in 2008 with the Indians organization.

5-1 with a 2.51 ERA at AA last season.

My predictions-

Will he make the team? Yes

Role? Long-man in the pen. (He'll beat out Patton and Guzman for this job.)

Randy Wells

Right handed pitcher.

26 years old.

Drafted by the Cubs in the 38th round of the 2002 draft.

4 big league games.

Was a catcher early in career.

Sat out 2004 and 2005 seasons then came back as a pitcher in 2006.

10-4 with a 4.02 ERA in 27 games (19 starts) at AAA Iowa last season.

My predictions-

Will he make the team? No

Where will he start the year? He will start the year at AAA, but he will get called up some time this season.

Marcos Mateo

Right handed pitcher.

Has yet to make big league debut.

24 years old.

Highest level: Class A

4-3 with a 357 ERA in 25 games (16 starts) with Daytona in 2008.

1-0 with a 1.20 ERA in 8 games with Peoria a year ago.

My predictions-

Will he make the team? No

Where will he start the year? He will start the year back with Daytona. We won't see him in the big leagues this year, but we will some time down the road.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Bruce Miles reports that the locker rooms in Mesa were packed on Friday with media and players.

Harden threw off flat ground today.

Lou hopes Rich will start 32 games.

The competition for back up catcher is wide open between Paul Bako and Koy Hill.

Another facial hair update from Bruce Miles: Chad Gaudin has a massive goatee.

Kevin Gregg threw today.

Bruce Levine reports that Alfonso Soriano and Aramis Ramirez will sit out the WBC. It seems like the only Cubs will be Marmol, Soto, and Kosuke.

Speaking of Kosuke, he worked to build his core this winter.

Harden is aiming for 25-30 starts.

Dempster joked about his "bold prediction" that he made last year. He made a new prediction, "I boldly predict that we're going to have a breakfast spread tomorrow and peanut butter and jelly for lunch, and I'm pretty sure that's going to happen."

When asked about Jake Peavy, Dempster said, "I don't want anybody to replace anybody on this team, because they're all great."

Lou Pinella has indicated that Sean Marshall is the favorite to win the 5th starter's job.

Carlos ZambranoBig Z needs to step up and be the ace of this staff again. A year ago, he was hot and cold. If Zambrano gains more consistency, then he should be a 20 game winner. Yesterday we heard that Big Z might not start on Opening Day, but I think he should. 2008 Numbers: 14-6 with a 3.91 ERARich Harden The key for Harden is staying healty. The Cubs made the right choice by picking up his option. I've heard that Harden and Sean Marshall could switch off starts. That way Harden will only start half the games to save his arm for late in the season. 2008 Numbers: 10-2 with a 2.07 ERA

Ryan DempsterOne of the key moves of the Cubs off season in my opinion, was actually re-signing Dempster. He shocked all Cubs fans last year with how smoothly he transitioned from the 9th inning, to the rotation. Expect another monster year for Ryan. 2008 Numbers: 17-6 with a 2.96 ERA

Ted LillyA very underrated guy in the starting 5. This guy won 17 ball games last year! Signing the lefty was, along with DeRosa, the 2 best deals that Jim has gotten as Cubs GM. 2008 Numbers: 17-9 with a 4.09 ERA

5th SpotWe know that Lilly, Dempster, Harden, and Zambrano will all be in the rotation, but that leaves the 5th starter spot open because of the departure of Jason Marquis. Sean Marshall is the front runner. Jeff Samardzija says he wants to start and will do anything he can to win a job in the rotation. Aaron Heilman, Chad Gaudin, and Angel Guzman are also fighting for that one spot in the rotation. 2008 Numbers: Marshall was 3-5 with a 3.36 ERA. Samardzija had a 2.28 ERA in the bullpen. Heilman was 3-8 with a 5.21 ERA for the Mets. My pick for the 5th starter- Jeff Samardzija!

Lou Piniella said that he was saddened that Alex Rodrigez, his former player, tested positive for anabolic steriods in 2003.

Reed Johnson joined David Kaplan last night on Sports Central:

Johnson is in Vegas. He is headed out to Arizona on Saturday.

Reed doesn't think the Cubs are overlooking any of the teams in their division. He said that the Brewers could be pretty competitive.

He thinks that the team felt the NLDS was over last year after they lost game 1. He feels that they should realize it is a 7 game set.

Johnson says players have an idea of which guys are using banned substances.

He thinks baseball has dealt with the era in a good way with their policy.

Johnson says that the other 103 names should be kept secret because that was the agreement, but he understands the other side of it too. He used the phrase "Let the leaking begin."

Kap asked if Reed had ever heard the play-by-play of his catch in Washington last year. Reed said no, so Kap played Cory Provus's call of the catch.

"It's going to be 25 guys bonded for the rest of our lives if we do win this this," Reed said.

Todd Hollandsworth joined Mully & Hanley for a preview of this season.

Todd says it makes for a brighter day when you know that next year has arrived and pitchers and catchers have reported.

This is a good team, and there is good reasons to be exited about it.

Todd doesn't think the rest of the NL Central teams did too much this off season.

Hollandsworth thinks that everyone around all of baseball feels that it is the Cubs turn to win one.

Todd thinks the Cubs have made improvements to a 97 win season.

He said that every season is like a 500 page book, and last year was a great first 450 pages, but it was like someone grabbed the book out of our hands and threw it out the window so we didn't get to read the last 50.

Holly says that the balance is what the Cubs were after, and that's what they got.

The organizations is hoping that this team will flow better than last years team.

Todd thinks adding Bradley and subtracting DeRosa becomes a wash.

He seems to think that Kosuke is a very important piece to this team.

Kosuke needs to drive the ball back up the middle.

Hollandsworth says that fans have to realize that Jake Peavy sounds great right now, but he could take away the Cubs flexibility at the all star break if they take on his contract and give up the prospects. He thinks addressing the issues you have in July is more important than adding Peavy now.

Todd's personal opinion is that the strength of the team is the starting rotation. If Dempster stays the same, Big Z goes back to himself, and Harden stays healthy, the Cubs don't need Peavy.

Jeff Samardzija talked with Waddle and Silvy today on ESPN 1000.

Jeff has gotten his Spring Training haircut, because it's a little hot in Mesa.

Samardzija says that there are a handful of great pitchers battling for the last spot in the rotation and he is grateful to get a chance to win that spot.

He says he had the right guys around him to help him get used to the bullpen last year.

Jeff has been starting his whole life and that is what he would like to do.

Lou was "kind of clean" with Jeff last year. He says he only got chewed out once by Lou.

Samardzija joked that he hasn't ever had an easy going coach, even in little league when his dad, Sam Samdzija, coached him.

He says Larry Rothchild always gets him "locked in" in camp.

Jeff says that the chemistry on the team is "pretty ridiculous" because everyone is so close.

Samardzija does have a 4th pitch that he didn't use in the bullpen, his change-up.

Bruce Levine reported from Arizona on ESPN 1000:

Lou Piniella thinks Jim did a really, really nice job this off season.

Piniella will manage differently this season resting some players more often to "keep his veterans fresh" for the whole season.

Carlos Zambrano has eye drops to use from the doctor and he will use them for about 3 weeks.

Zambrano has an eye infection and he will have to postpone LASIK surgery.

Let's shift gears and conclude our NL Central off season recaps by taking a look at Brewers off season.

11-12-08: Picked up the option on Salomon Torres.

11-25-08: Signed R.J. Swindle to a one year contract and signed Jason Bourgeois to a minor league contract with an invite to Spring Training.

12-1-08: Signed Scott Thorman to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training.

12-2-08: Salomon Torres retired.

12-4-08: Signed Jorge Julio to a one year deal.

12-9-08: Re-signed Mike Lamb to a one year deal.

12-12-08: Non-tendered Chris Capuano.

12-16-08: Signed Chris Capuano to a minor league deal with invite to Spring Training.

12-18-08: Signed Trot Nixon and Chris Duffy to minor league contracts with invites to Spring Training.

We've been counting down since last October, and finally it's hear! Spring Training! Pitchers and catchers have official reported to Mesa, Arizona for the Chicago Cubs and they will have their first official work outs tomorrow. Here's some notes:

Last year I ran into Billy Williams at Don and Charlie's and Jim Hendry at the Pink Pony. Jim was very nice, I got to have a conversation with him. I you like autographs, Spring Training is definitely a good place to get them as well! And it's so nice to get away from the cold weather and see some baseball!

Pitchers and catchers reports tomorrow, I'll keep you posted on everything happening out in the Valley of the Sun!

We continue our look at what the Cubs NL Central foes have done this off season.

11-4-08: Re-signed Jason LaRue to a one year contract. 11-19-08: Signed Ian Ostlund to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training. 12-3-08: Signed Trever Miller to a one year deal. 12-4-08: Acquried Khalil Green and a player to be named from the Padres for Mark Worrell. 12-12-08: Non-tendered Tyler Johnson, Randy Flores, and Aaron Miles. 12-17-08: Signed Joe Thurston and Justin Knoedler to minor league contracts with invites to Spring Training. 1-5-09: Signed Royce Ring to a one year contract. 2-9-09: Released Adam Kennedy.

That's all the Cardinals have done!They've also lost Braden Looper, Mark Mulder, and Jason Isringhausen. I'd give there off season a 3 out of 10 because they could have had a chance to compete next year with a solid off season, but instead they got worse this winter!

Searching For AL Blogs

If anyone is an author of a blog for an American league team, OR you have a blog that you read of an AL team that you like, please send me the site. You can either comment on one of my blog posts, or send me an email, cubsblogmailbag@aol.com.